عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Former England Football Captain Beckham Queues to See Queen Elizabeth’s Coffin

Former football player David Beckham leaves after paying his respects to Britain's Queen Elizabeth lying in state, following her death, in London, Britain September 16, 2022. (Reuters)
Former football player David Beckham leaves after paying his respects to Britain's Queen Elizabeth lying in state, following her death, in London, Britain September 16, 2022. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Former England Football Captain Beckham Queues to See Queen Elizabeth’s Coffin

Former football player David Beckham leaves after paying his respects to Britain's Queen Elizabeth lying in state, following her death, in London, Britain September 16, 2022. (Reuters)
Former football player David Beckham leaves after paying his respects to Britain's Queen Elizabeth lying in state, following her death, in London, Britain September 16, 2022. (Reuters)

Former England football captain David Beckham queued for more than 13 hours alongside thousands of other mourners to see Queen Elizabeth lying in state in London on Friday.

The 47-year-old former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder and current co-owner of American Major League Soccer team Inter Miami, said he had joined the queue at 2.15 a.m. (0115 GMT).

"We all want to be here together, we all want to experience something where we celebrate the amazing life of our queen. Something like this today is meant to be shared together," Beckham, who was wearing a dark flat cap and a dark suit with a black tie and appeared to be alone, told reporters in the queue.

He talked of snacking on crisps, sweets and donuts with his fellow queuers to keep their energy up.

Television footage of Westminster Hall showed Beckham, who met the queen several times during her 70-year reign, looked tearful as he waited to file past her coffin.

Stopping to pay his respects by the coffin at around 3.25 p.m, Beckham bowed his head and closed his eyes momentarily.

The government paused entry to the queue for a few hours earlier on Friday after warning of waiting times of at least 14 hours.

It snakes its way for miles through central London to parliament's Westminster Hall. Some 750,000 people in total are expected to file past the coffin before Monday morning.

Last week Beckham posted on Instagram that he was "truly saddened" by the queen's death.

"How devastated we all feel today shows what she meant to people in this country and around the world. How much she inspired us with her leadership. How she comforted us when times were tough," he wrote.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore Among Those who Lost Homes in Los Angeles Fires

A blackened US flag flies above a charred structure after the passage of the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, on January 8, 2025. (Photo by AGUSTIN PAULLIER / AFP)
A blackened US flag flies above a charred structure after the passage of the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, on January 8, 2025. (Photo by AGUSTIN PAULLIER / AFP)
TT
TT

Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore Among Those who Lost Homes in Los Angeles Fires

A blackened US flag flies above a charred structure after the passage of the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, on January 8, 2025. (Photo by AGUSTIN PAULLIER / AFP)
A blackened US flag flies above a charred structure after the passage of the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, on January 8, 2025. (Photo by AGUSTIN PAULLIER / AFP)

Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events.
Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week's Oscar nominations have been delayed. And tens of thousands of Angelenos are displaced and awaiting word Thursday on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city's most famous denizens, The Associated Press reported.
More than 1,900 structures have been destroyed and the number is expected to increase. More than 130,000 people are also under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, a number that continues to shift as new fires erupt.
Late Wednesday, a fire in the Hollywood Hills was scorching the hills near the famed Hollywood Bowl and Dolby Theatre, which is the home of the Academy Awards.
Here are how the fires are impacting celebrities and the Los Angeles entertainment industry:
Stars whose homes have burned in the fires Celebrities like Crystal and his wife, Janice, were sharing memories of the homes they lost.
The Crystals lost the home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood that they lived in for 45 years.
“Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this,” the Crystals wrote in the statement.
Mandy Moore lost her home in the Altadena neighborhood roughly 30 miles east of the Palisades.
“Honestly, I’m in shock and feeling numb for all so many have lost, including my family. My children’s school is gone. Our favorite restaurants, leveled. So many friends and loved ones have lost everything too,” Moore wrote on Instagram in a post that included video of devastated streets in the foothill suburb.
“Our community is broken but we will be here to rebuild together. Sending love to all affected and on the front lines trying to get this under control,” Moore wrote.
Hilton posted a news video clip on Instagram and said it included footage of her destroyed home in Malibu. “This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London,” she said, referencing her young children."
Elwes, the star of “The Princess Bride” and numerous other films, wrote on Instagram Wednesday that his family was safe but their home had burned in the coastal Palisades fire. “Sadly we did lose our home but we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire,” Elwes wrote.
The blazes have thrown Hollywood's carefully orchestrated awards season into disarray.
Awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed due to the fires. The AFI Awards, which were set to honor “Wicked,” “Anora” and other awards season contenders, had been scheduled for Friday.
The AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, which honor movies and television shows that resonate with older audiences, were set for Friday but have been postponed.
The Critics Choice Awards, originally scheduled for Sunday, have been postponed until Feb. 26.
Each of the shows feature projects that are looking for any advantage they can get in the Oscar race and were scheduled during the Academy Awards voting window.
The Oscar nominations are also being delayed two days to Jan. 19 and the film academy has extended the voting window to accommodate members affected by the fires.